The Cool Factor: Building your brands image through partnership marketing

UPDATE November 4, 2008: The winners have been announced. Congratulations to Bryan Bliss who won the guitar and ten others who won books.
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"What is cool?" Del Breckenfeld asks in his new book The Cool Factor: Building Your Brands Image through Partnership Marketing. "It's difficult to identify, impossible to measure, and usually appears spontaneously."

I'm going to talk a little about Del's new book and a little about cool.

But please note that there is an insanely cool challenge with a one-of-a-kind offer (you can win a Fender Telecaster guitar used in a concert and signed by Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top) as part of this blog post, so read on!

As head of Entertainment Marketing at Fender Musical Instruments, Del Breckenfeld worked with the world's top musicians, helped organize amazing events, and secured product placement in hit movies. In his book, he shows how Fender became the coolest name in musical instruments and how marketers at Fender partnered with cool products, people, and events to up their cool factor even more.

Because very few of us work at way cool companies like Fender, Breckenfeld shows us in the book how you can partner with cool and have some of the coolness rub off.

That's what I’ve done! How? I was fortunate to read an advance copy of The Cool Factor and offer an endorsement for the back of the book. My own cool factor went up when I saw the other blurbs from the likes of Billy F. Gibbons from ZZ Top and Don Felder formerly of The Eagles.

Me, together with a couple of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers? No way! How cool.

"Del Breckenfeld's The Cool Factor gets the inside story on the music business partnering with major corporations fueling their brands."
—Billy F. Gibbons, guitarist, singer, and songwriter with the multiplatinum band ZZ Top, and all-around "Sharp Dressed Man"

"In The Cool Factor, Del Breckenfeld shows us firsthand how to get celebrities to partner with corporations for the purpose of positive outreach..."
—Don Felder, former lead guitarist and songwriter of The Eagles, bestselling author of Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974 – 2001)

"Del Breckenfeld knows cool. Fender, the brand he oversees, has such a high cool factor that even millions of non-musicians aspire to use its products..."
—David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR and World Wide Rave

OK, so here's the challenge. As part of a cool partnership with Del Breckenfeld, we're offering a Fender guitar signed by Billy F. Gibbons. This amazing Fender® Classic 72 Telecaster® Deluxe guitar was used in a concert this past weekend (you can learn more about it and see some photos below). The guitar will go to the person who supplies the best response to my challenge below. In addition, a copy of The Cool Factor will be sent to the winner plus five honorable mentions.

Breckenfeld says. "If you ask someone what cool is, they'll probably reply that they can't tell you in exact words, but they know it when they see it."

I told Breckenfeld that my blog readers are a cool bunch. And I said that they would have some great ideas on what "cool" is.

So your challenge is: Define "cool" in two sentences or less.

To get you thinking, according to Wikipedia, "Cool is an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance, style and Zeitgeist."

Details:
1. Your answer must be original, not a movie line or something like that.

2. The challenge ends at 5:00 PM U.S. Eastern time on Friday October 31, 2008.

3. Please submit your answer by either writing a blog post and sending a trackback to this post (or) leaving a comment to this post (or) blog or podcast your answer and leave a link to your blog or podcast in a comment on this post.

4. Only one entry per person please. (However feel free to leave a general comment on this post if you want and then an entry later.)

5. Please use your real name. If you enter via a blog post, make sure you have contact information on your blog so we can notify you if you win. If you enter via a comment, please enter a valid email address in the comment form so we can contact you (your email address will not be published).

6. Shannon Vargo from John Wiley & Sons Inc. (publisher of The Cool Factor) will select the winner and runners up.

7 Thank you!

Billy F. Gibbons and the guitar with his artwork and autograph

"I contacted Billy F. Gibbons to ask if he could sign a Fender® guitar as part of a promotion for my new book, The Cool Factor, on David Meerman Scott's popular blog," says Del Breckenfeld. "I had worked with Billy beginning with ZZ Top's infamous 'Legs' video (the company I worked for at the time created the spinning fur guitars) right up to Billy's appearance on this year's American Idol. My association with Billy is well documented in my book, and both Billy and David were kind enough to offer endorsements for my book's jacket.

"It just so happened that ZZ Top was playing the 25th Anniversary of Southern California’s 'Love Ride'. The event typically attracts over 20,000 motorcycles and to date, the ride has generated over $20 million which is donated to try and help solve Muscular Dystrophy and to fund local charities. This year proved to be the biggest and best one yet! I brought along a shiny black Classic 72 Telecaster® Deluxe for Billy to sign and when my wife Bettina and I met him on his tour bus, we were joined by Duff McKagan, bassist with Velvet Revolver and formally with Guns & Roses. Duff was planning on sitting in with ZZ Top along with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, who just finished their blazing set. The problem was that Duff didn’t have a guitar with him. He took one look at the Classic Tele and thought it would do just fine for the performance. The next thing we knew, we were watching Duff on-stage with Grohl and ZZ Top ripping through 'La Grange' and 'Tush' in front of a delirious crowd estimated at 40,000 fans. As soon as the show ended, we were back on Billy's bus, where he carefully wiped off the guitar and proceeded to create his own brand of hot rod 'pin-stripping' on the face, then signing and dating the artwork. The guitar, resplendent with Billy's art and a few well placed 'dings' from the rockin' show as war wounds, is now part of rock history."

ZZ Top with Duff McKagan using the guitar in a concert in front of 40,000 people

Come on, you know you want this guitar. It is so damn cool. You're a smart marketer, aren't you? How would you define "cool" in two sentences or less?

Duff McKagan (with the guitar) and Del Breckenfeld in Billy F. Gibbons' tour bus prior to the gig

Disclosure: The Cool Factor is published by John Wiley & Sons, the publisher of my books including The New Rules of Marketing & PR (2007) and World Wide Rave (coming March 2009).

Comments

[Jon Swanson]

Cool is not caring what people think creatively enough that people care what you think.

[Jon Bishop]

Cool is being completely candid and transparent as individuals and companies while approaching life and business from a different angle than the mainstream thought process.

[Sebastien Page]

Cool is what never goes out of style

[Steve Johnson]

"Cool" is doing what you think is right and not caring what others think.

[Scott DeYager]

Cool is knowing when to care and when not to care.

[jon burg]

Cool is the art of being rather than the act of emoting. However, those that we perceive as cool attain their status due to their ability to transmit a state of absolute being into a statement of absolute presence.

[Josh Sternberg]

"Cool" will always be The Beatles and The Stones, Jimi and E.C., Kerouac and Ginsberg, Hitchcock and Kubrick. And most importantly, "cool" will always be my soon-to-be wife and my parents.

[Allyson Robison]

Cool is making the most of every day regardless of what anyone else thinks. That sort of self-confidence entices others to follow, usually without realizing it, thus making you "cool."

[Kevin Mason]

Cool defies explanation. When something is cool, you just feel it deep down in your soul!

[David Fisher]

Cool is being yourself so much that everyone else wants to be you.

[Allen L. Kelly]

Cool is the essence of what everyone wants to be, but no one ever is. Once you realize this, you are it.

[Joel Johnson]

Cool is the nudge that gets us to look up from where we are and to imagine ourselves a little closer to who we dream we could be.

Neat idea, Del and David. I think we all want to associate ourselves with coolness. There's an ideal in it that we want to be a part of, even if that which is cool is different to the next guy.

[Karen Brindley]

You have the cool factor when guitar heroes endorse you. How cool is that!

[Thuan Nguyen]

Cool is walking in a room and all the girls wanna sleep with you and all the guys wish they were you.

[Skip Reardon]

Cool is a matter of attitude, style and influence. Cool changes in the way it is perceived, but let's face it, cool never "really" changes.

[NWGuy]

Cool is when people understand that you are operating on a completely different level, but think that you are a perfect fit with them.

[DrRJE]

"Cool" is the final piece of the puzzle; the one that is overlooked and skipped over until everything else falls into place.

[Scott Young]

Cool is my most extravagant, fantastic, and unrestrained imaginations. Show me something that when I see it I go for a ride in my head, something that breathes life into my dreams and adds dreams to my life - that's cool.

[Chris Plamann]

Cool is the shirt you want to wear, the place you want to go, the car you want to drive, the guitar you want to play, the brand you want to live. Cool is aspirational - attainable for few, pursued by many, and holds value in its inherent scarcity.

[Benjamin Krueger]

In a retreat from the mainstream, it embraces an idea. Independent and inspired, Cool sacrifices itself for all to partake.

[Martin Eliasson]

My definition of cool:

"mainstream rebellion"

Example matrix:

non-mainstream & non-rebellion: think of someone near you, a neighbour or someone who never did anything remarkable in his whole life (not cool).

mainstream & non-rebellion: Dick Cheney (not cool)

non-mainstream & rebellion: Bin Ladin (not cool)

mainstream & rebellion: Yves Saint Laurent (one of the coolest men ever).

Not only persons can be cool. Harley Davidson is cool because it really is mainstream yet there is the motorcycle rebel connection. Fender is cool because guitars have been primary tools of rebel music. Keyboards in general have never been used in any uprising of any sort, so Korg cannot be cool. Clavia might be cool. Only synthesizers used by groups like the Prodigy have a chance of being really cool. Like the 303.

[Josh Peters]

I think everyone's definition of cool is different based on our personalities. For instance I like pirates, alternative art, mma, and horror movies. I think that stuff is cool and the people who excel in these areas are cool. I want to write a horror movie script, be a great artist, play a totally sweet pirate in a movie, etc and for those reasons the people I see doing the stuff I want to do I think are cool. So my 1 sentence definition of cool would have to be:

Cool is the passion, the envy, or the desire we have of someone's acheivements that we want for ourselves.

[Gavin Heaton]

Cool cuts a swathe through the mundane yet is unaware of its impact on the world around it.

[ilya]

Cool was seeing ZZ Top recently!

[lfamous]

What is cool? You know it when you see it; and if you have to ask, it's not. You can't fake cool-either it is, or it isn't. And cool doesn't care what other people think; cool is cool in and of itself not because people say it is. Which is why some things that almost no one knows about (think great garage band) are cooler than things MM says are cool.

[Jared Kohlmann]

Cool:
That which has transcended the normal or mundane and reached a higher level of social desire and acceptance. It means rising above the status quo to become wanted, talked about, and revered.

[Philip Sheldrake]

Cool is a known unknown.

[paolo bianchi]

"Cool" is surfing the wave at its highest peak.

[Paul Dettman]

When you see something that is cool, you instantly become an inch taller and a pound lighter. Cool just makes you feel... great.

[Harry Spear]

Cool is, no more sickness, no more dying, no more crying, no more pain.
Forever.

[Tim Kaschinske]

For me, Cool is a moment in time where everything comes together in such a perfect way that a magnificent experience is created. In those moments, the only possible response is "Cool!"

[Tom Barrett]

cool is knowing that being yourself can attract anybody. It's being in the know without trying too hard.

[Ryan Treft]

Definition: Coolness is in the eye of the beholders (plural). There is no objective coolness; it's whatever a group wants to be part of.

Hence- a marketer should identify the group(s) that might identify with them and leverage the image of another company already seen as cool in the eyes of that group.

At Zoobies (Zoobies.com) we 2 co-branding projects in the works with companies that are cool. Cool to the group that matters to us.

[Dan Phelan]

cool is a state of mind that can only be achieved by accident

[gavin Davie]

Cool is the act of not trying to be cool; those who try fail. Ultimately it is being yourself and hoping those around you like who you are.

[Dave Smagula]

The concept of "cool" is a transformative one which enables people to successfully tap into some of their baser emotions and instincts without fear of reprisal in their otherwise plain everyday lives.

"Cool" allows one to indulge, even bask, in an image of vanity, pride, braggadocio, aggression, gamble, sexuality, maybe even recklessness simply by virtue of wearing a leather jacket, or playing a guitar, or reading a book, or speaking the slang, or playing a game, or drinking a drink, or smoking a smoke, or wearing a label. Powerful stuff, this cool.

[Ron Ploof]

Cool is an attitude carried by an individual who remains unfazed by the turmoil surrounding them. With a simple wink of an eye, a “carrier of cool” lets you know that everything’s gonna be okay.

[Craig]

Cool is what you are, when no one else is looking

[Mike Horowitz]

Cool is saying "fu*k you" to what everyone else thinks, and doing what you think.

[Scott Overpeck]

To be cool is to be influential to the point that you are emulated. To be liked to the point that you have fans. To be trusted to the point that you are sought out.

Whether a brand or a person cool is a state of being that cannot be attained through trying to be cool but rather through having the right mix of qualities coming together in such a way that the masses can connect in a meaningful way.

[Kenneth]

Cool is the center spot of that constantly swaying tightrope walk between confidence and arrogance.

[Chris Moody]

Cool is putting your paycheck on the line for something innovative that you believe in. It's the this can change the world mentality that pushes you to use any resources available to make the world a better, more innovative place...that's cool.

[John Carson]

Cool is a few steps away from being fool.

[Kare Anderson]

This book is idea-packed, real - plus a fun read. I came across Del when we both spoke at NAMM - the biggest music industry conference where I offered ways to partner. Here's more for any kind or size of consumer-serving organization
http://www.movingfrommetowe.com/tag/smartpartnering/

[Colin Clark]

Cool occures where brilliance and indifference meet. Cool is the most amazing thing you've ever seen in your life that refuses to acknowledge it's own impact. (sidebar - cool would also be me winning that telecaster. I haven't bought a new guitar in a long freakin time.

[Darlene]

Cool doesn't have to talk about it, explain it or worry about it. Cool just is.

[Jeri Bjorling]

Experiencing the power of simple, and particularly those things that make you smile - that's cool.

[Andrew Brown]

I was told that I was cool while walking home in my 'pleather is better than leather jacket', when some biker dudes raved about my pull string plush toy lobster key chain that swings outside my pocket, thats attached to 20 other keychains that only has one tinkerbell key attached to it which is for my grandma's house where I live.

[Bobby Lehew]

Cool is a personal metamorphose: when excellence becomes a protest against mediocrity, life becomes a calculated exploit, and success becomes a state of mind; when you live intentionally, love magnanimously, and leave regrettably - you are cool.

[Jaculynn Peterson]

Cool is communicating and connecting on a level that transcends languages, cultures, boundaries, barriers, and inhibitions of the heart – just like music.

[Marc Girolimetti]

Am I now cool by association because of the acknowledgment I received in "Eyeball Wars"? If so then that's way cool. ;-)

[Brett Wohl]

Cool is:
Always remebering who you are, and always knowing where you are going.

[Joe Gill]

Cool is a feeling someone or something radiates that positively impacts your soul.

[Nico Giorgio]

Cool is the casual accumulation of admiration through attitude, image, and personality.

[Mark Smiciklas]

Cool is natural style or attitude that engages without trying too hard.

[Teresa McCrerey]

Cool is a spectacular, dreamlike life boat floating in a sea of mundane conformity – we can only hope it will rescue us one day.

[Siobhan Bulfin]

Cool is when an idea becomes iconic and accepted amongst the tribe. It’s origins are the source, it’s future is mutant. Cool is about living the dream, being honest with yourself and straight with everyone else.

Siobhan Bulfin, Wellington, New Zealand

[Bryan Bliss]

Cool is knowing exactly which rules and conventions to bend , having the confidence to try your own way and the strength to succeed.

Cool is more than being trendy or fashionable but excelling at inspiration and creativity in a way that invigorates the observers otherwise dreary and uninspired lives.

thanks and take care,
Bryan Bliss

[Mark R. Hinkle]

Cool is an intangible aesthetic tempered by eccentricity colored by indifference.

[Kim Garretson]

Cool is your business card with simply a Wordle of a speech from The Big Lebowski like this one: http://tinyurl.com/66ohv9

[vivek achary]

"cool" is what makes people "hot"

[Luke Spear]

Cool is being 14 years old and knowing my dad has given me the best gift ever by teaching me to love and play music. With my music I can communicate with anyone.

[Josh Sommermeyer]

I'm too cool for this contest...

[Jon Mierow]

Cool is being comfortable with who you are no matter who you are with or what you are doing.

[Sara]

Cool is living exactly how you wish, making others wish they were you.

[Nic]

Cool is the front edge of the wave, the first to shore.

[Pete Barry]

Cool is what happens when envy and desire are emotionalized.

[Aviva Jorstad]

Cool is an individual's subjective interpretation of a positive aspiration; the reflection of qualities one admires, which is unique to one's own values, taste, and preferences. In essence, cool is one's own.

[Tina Estrada]

No telling when it will arrive or to what degree, but it's there, within all of us, and that's cool.

[Tim Otis]

Cool:
The exhaled utterance immediately following the silent, inhaled awe. Its dictation is best achieved by French Rabbis.

[Tim Otis]

Cool:
The exhaled utterance immediately following the silent, inhaled awe. Its dictation is best achieved by French Rabbis.

[Bill Tveit]

Cool, you'll know when you see it. It's in a walk, word, handshake and smile, and leaves a lasting impression and a want for more.

[Allison]

Cool makes everyone want to be cool, to do cool, to live cool, to have cool, but it doesn't make them feel like they are only part of the herd.

[Kris Tassoni]

Cool is a way of being. It is walking into a room and changing the mood in that room, merely with an attitude, style, or persona; it is the use of talent, whether artistic or humorous or giving or intelligent, for the good of something or someone.

[David Meerman Scott]

Thank you to all who entered.

The challenge is now closed, The best responses will be judged by Shannon Vargo of Wiley and will be announced in the first week of November.

Of course, feel free to comment about The Cool Factor or this post in general at any time.

[Del Breckenfeld]

I have enjoyed these comments on "cool" so much. In my book, "The Cool Factor", I do state that for someone or something to be considered cool they have to have two things going for them: first they have to be imbued with the rebel spirit, and second, they have to be unique when compared to the norm of the day. Once they are discovered and branded cool by a wider audience, they can become part of the "eternal cool" like Steve McQueen, Miles Davis, Fender, Harley-Davidson and of course, ZZ Top.

Thanks to David for inviting me to participate and I appreciate everyone's comments and observations.

[Justin Brock]

Hate I missed the cutoff date. We were driving from Minnesota to Mississippi. But here's a shot anyway:

"Cool is the aura of unself-conscious assurance, the I-am-who-I-am disposition that unsettles all the insecure people around me."

Thanks for your time at the seminar . . . and for playing the Dead.

[Jerom the Dutchman]

Cool is when a man or a woman just lives his/her life happily and helps others to do so, despite all the bad stuff that happens around them.

[David Meerman Scott]

The winners have been announced. http://www.webinknow.com/2008/11/announcing-the-winners-of-the-cool-factor-challenge.html

[NRI]

Brand as a facilitator makes me think about utility and relevance. Two core pillars that i think should apply to any marketing effort these days.

[David Meerman Scott]

NRI - good point. Thanks for the comment

[Guitar Reviews]

Man, I love Gibbons' guitar. Fender has not let me down yet <3